A Wellness Resource for Family and Community. This blog is intended to provide helpful information for the entire HCA community, students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families. While this is a uniquely challenging time for all, we remain committed to the Emotional, Spiritual, and Physical well-being of our community. HCA CARES is intended to be a valuable resource for education, support, encouragement and hope during this difficult and uncertain time.

Pages

I have often heard it said, “Eat to live, don’t live to eat.” From a health standpoint this is sound advice but there is no denying everyone has a favorite meal they thoroughly enjoy. Meals are social events. There is fellowship in sharing a good meal.

Comfort food is different for everyone. For me, my go to is a delicious Italian meal. It brings back loving memories of my grandmother’s Italian kitchen. There is nothing like a pot of homemade gravy (Not Sauce!) that has been simmering for hours poured over some homemade pasta with meatballs. I make a respectable meatball but I have yet to perfect my grandmother’s gravy recipe. (She never wrote anything down). However, I am getting closer. In truth, I am not sure anything I create would live up to the memory of my grandmother’s cooking.

Quarantine has given me time to experiment with some new recipes and time to perfect old ones, like my grandmother’s gravy. My husband and I both enjoy cooking and we have found some great new recipes. We are enjoying the ritual and routine of preparing the meal because we are not rushing to eat and run out the door.

One silver lining of being in quarantine is all three of my children are home and we have time to enjoy our family meals. My children are 17, 20 and 23. Under normal circumstances, we don’t have the opportunity to sit together for a meal as often as we would like. When we are all home and have dinner together, someone is usually rushing out the door right after the meal to get to a practice or a social event. Now, since we have little else to look forward to during the day, dinners have become an anticipated event for everyone in my house. We are able to savor the meal and spend time in conversion afterward. The slower pace of life allows us reminise, laugh more and appreciate each other’s company. (Parents of young children...there is hope. One day you will be able to sit through an entire meal. That day will come more quickly than you think.)

Below we have listed some recipes we hope will provide you comfort and enjoyment. If you have a recipe you would like to share, please email me at jclay@holychildacademy.com . If you are experiencing food insecurities due to current circumstances, please see Food Resources under the Covid-19 Resources section of this blog.

From the Kitchen of Stacey Kerno….Italian Tortellini Soup with White Beans

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

3 Italian turkey sausage links (4 oz each)

1 medium diced

6 garlic cloves minced

32 oz Chicken broth

1- 1/2 cups of water

1 can (14-1/2 oz) diced tomatoes

1 package (6 oz) cheese tortellini (or any favorite)

1 small zucchini chopped

6 oz of fresh spinach chopped

2-1/2 teaspoons of minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Dash of crushed pepper flakes or to taste

1/4 cup of white wine (optional)

Directions

1. Crumble sausage into a dutch oven, add onions. Cook over medium heat until meat is a golden brown. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute longer. Deglaze the pot with optional wine. Add the broth, water and tomatoes and bring to a boil.

2. Add tortellini and zucchini, cook for 7 to 9 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired.

From the kitchen of Judy (and Joe) Clay….Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Serves 6-8

This is a newer go-to recipe for my family. Even if you are not the biggest fan of brussel sprouts, you may find you enjoy this recipe. As the saying goes “Everything's better with bacon.” Remove the bacon and this is a tasty vegetarian recipe.

Add the bacon grease and olive oil to a pan on medium heat. (We freeze bacon fat after the occasional Sunday brunch and reuse it in various recipes. For this recipe it allows us to use the bacon bits as a shortcut without having to cook the bacon.)

Add the diced onion. As onions begin to carmelize, reduce the heat and add the minced garlic. Add balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.

Add the brussel sprouts and increase the heat back up medium high. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Continue to cook the brussel sprouts on medium heat, stirring occasionally, allowing them to brown and crisp in the process. If the bottom of the pan browns, deglaze with a tablespoon water.

Add the bacon (or bacon bits) and continue to cook for several minutes until brussel sprouts are tender and browned.

Bake the 350 degree oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf come out clean, approximately 60-75 minutes. Baking time will vary according to your oven and the kind of pan you use.

Allow to cool on a baking rack for several minutes then carefully remove from loaf pan. If desired, top with cream cheese glaze before serving.

Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:

2 ounces cream cheese softened

2 tablespoons butter softened

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup powdered sugar (You can make powdered sugar by pulsing granulated sugar in a food processor until fine.)

Mix ingredients until smooth. Warm until pourable and allow to set before serving.

From the kitchen of Judy Clay…..Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

This recipe is one that I have been baking for decades. My own children now make it for themselves. It originally came from The Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook which I received as a wedding shower gift. Instead of throwing away overripe bananas, I freeze them to use in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

⅔ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2-3 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 cup)

⅓ cup shortening, margarine or butter

2 tablespoons milk

2 eggs

½ cup chocolate chips (or a little more if you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8x4 loaf pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup flour, the sugar, baking powder and baking soda, and salt.

Add mashed bananas, margarine or butter, and milk. Beat with a mixer until blended.

Add eggs and remaining flour and beat until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into the greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Baking time may vary for your oven and the pan you use.

Remove loaf pan from oven and place on a wire baking rack to cool for several minutes before removing the banana bread from the loaf pan.

This Sunday, Ms. Mossor and Ms. Brown started the process of cleaning up, weeding, and preparing the garden for Spring planting. Over the past week, our HCA teachers and interested members of the community have been working on a schedule that will practice social distancing, but still allow us to maintain our Organic Garden.

The HCA community, our country, and the world at large could not possibly have anticipated or predicted the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in, at this moment in history. We have all been deeply impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic in one way or another. We pray that your families are safe and as healthy as can be during these current circumstances.

This pandemic can cause a myriad of emotions, from fear and uncertainty, to anxiety and sense of hopelessness. The disruption to our daily routines, the unpredictable future and the many questions that remain unanswered can put undue stress on our sense of normalcy, shake us to the core, and leave us wondering what the future may hold.

Therefore it is in times like these, that it is even more crucial to turn to the arts for healing, comfort, and inspiration. The arts transcend cultural boundaries, gender, age, ethnicity, faith, socio-economic status and even pre-existing health-related concerns. The arts can calm our fears, soothe our bodies and minds, and elevate our spirits and souls. They can transform us from the inside out. We only have to allow ourselves to be open to the possibility.

I encourage you to carve time each day, amid the chaos and confusion, to create a crucial space where you can detach from the turmoil, even momentarily. Allow yourself to connect with something beyond your normal obligations and responsibilities. Experience something new, whether it be a beautiful piece of art, or a piece of music you have never heard before. Allow your body to be still, your mind to be at ease and your spirit to be uplifted. Embrace the unfamiliar with a new sense of curiosity.

Below you will find a link to a piece of music by Enno Morricone used in a film entitled the Mission. It is intended to encourage you to find a few moments for reflection and meditation. It is performed here as a duet by me performing both the piano and violin parts. While you listen, I hope you will take the time to read some of my favorite quotes about the importance of the arts in our lives.

We are blessed in so many ways by the gifts we have been given by God. Artists and musicians create with their hands, brains, hearts and souls. They share their talents and provide us with an outlet to enable us to reach inside our own thoughts and hearts to experience life at a deeper, more spiritual level. May you immerse yourself every day in the gifts that musicians and artists share so freely.